Nkosinathi Innocent Maphumulo, or more commonly known as Black Coffee, is one of the top musicians of the moment. Hailing from South Africa, the DJ and record producer specializes in the deep house genre, and has collaborated with some of the greatest names in the business to date. He has released five albums under his Johannesburg-based record label, Soulistic Music, emerging as a breakout artist following his big showcase in Cape Town at the Red Bull Music Academy in 2004. Since then, he’s collaborated with A-listers like Drake, Alicia Keys, Swizz Beats and more, and has also reached double platinum selling status with his multi Award-Winning album Pieces of Me. In 2017, he received residency status at the new Hï Ibiza and the famed XS Nightclub at the Wynn in Las Vegas. When he’s not in the studio making music, he can be spotted traveling throughout the world at the most coveted hot spots nightlife has to offer, as well at the top music festivals, from Coachella, Miami Music Week, Tomorrowland and more. Here, Haute Living sits down with the artist to talk music, producing, what he has coming up, who inspires him and the highest moments of his career.
HL: Tell us about your upcoming Terminal 5 gig—what can people expect from the performance?
BC: I’m really looking forward to the
Terminal 5 show. I love the NY scene—there’s so much love and great energy every time I perform there and the Terminal 5 show is for the fans—that’s why we went for a much more bigger venue for this show. (It’s still not too late to get your
tickets!)
HL: How is the music industry changing and evolving since you first started out?
BC: The music industry is much more exciting even though I feel like we are still trying to find our feet with the technology and all the gadgets!
HL: What else do you have coming up for this year?
BC: I’m currently working on an album so I’ve been spending a lot of my time writing music.
HL: Where does your inspiration come from when you create music?
BC: It comes from all different places—it could be a mood, an environment, a thought…
HL: Has any artist in particular had a big influence over you?
BC: I’m forever inspired by artists, but mostly the ones that came before my time. I always try and understand what they were going for before they created masterpieces.
HL: Anyone you’d love to collaborate with?
BC: Many! From Pharrell to Diplo, to Jamiroquai and Beyoncé.
HL: Greatest moments of your career thus far?
BC: Doing the Africa Rising show in Durban, My residency at Hï Ibiza then with the Wynn Group in Las Vegas have all been really defining moments of my career.
HL: Where do you see yourself in five years?
BC: Still making and playing music but also pursuing my other business interests in other fields.
